clarity:
Though relentlessly pursued o'er aerial housetop,
and vice versa,
I have thwarted the malevolent machinations of our scurrilous enemies.
In short: I have arrived.
(Dickens > Micawber > W. C. Fields)
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/342914/David-Copperfield-Movie-Clip-I-Have-Arrived-.html
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/342664/David-Copperfield-Movie-Clip-A-Personal-Claim-Upon-Me.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8HAqwlsRhA
Fields facts
Enshrined in the Juggling Hall of Fame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytgPGr6JhLo
While stories of Fields` alcohol consumption (and the consequences thereof)
were a regular part of his act, and he was rarely seen without a drink at hand,
nobody could recall ever actually seeing him drunk, or out of control.
It was generally assumed that his prominent proboscis was the result of his
drinking, an assumption he himself fueled in his comedy. However, it is believed
to have actually been a physical characteristic inherited from his mother`s side
of the family.
Stopped drinking for over a year during his career, when a friend died of
alcohol-related causes, but eventually went back to it.
Although one of his most famous quotes is "Never work with animals or
children" he secretly admired children.
Slipped a dose of gin into Baby LeRoy's milk bottle during a movie shoot when
the set nurse left for a bathroom break; production had to stop for a day until
the child could sober up. (Fields reportedly sent money later to LeRoy's family
after the boy's screen career ended and they had financial trouble).
Usually wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to his movies; the aliases he used
("Mahatma Kane Jeeves", "Otis Criblecoblis", etc.) for the writing credits came
from the unusual names he encountered on the road in his vaudeville days.
The last movie he starred in, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941),
included a character he had always wanted to have in one of his movies: a young
woman (his niece, played by Gloria Jean) who loved him unconditionally.
Appears on the cover of The Beatles` "Sgt Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band".
He admired African-Americans and spoke out in favor of fairer treatment for
them during the days of harsher segregation in the US. He generously paid off
the $4000 mortgage on the house of his African-American cook. He once ordered
from his premises a man who used the "N-word" within earshot of his staff.
According to film historians, he performed in only one film exactly according
to script and as directed. That one was MGM`s The Personal History, Adventures,
Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935) in which he
co-starred with Freddie Bartholomew, who was only ten years old. Fields admired
the Charles Dickens book and wanted desperately to play Mr. Micawber in the
movie so he agreed to forego his usual ad-libs and put aside his distaste at
working with child actors.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001211/bio
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in
being a damn fool about it.
[when "caught" reading a Bible] Just looking for loopholes.
I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally.
There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the
tail and face the situation.
-- W. C. Fields
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/w_c_fields.html
